Experiments
by Roy42
Summary: Some experiments fail; some succeed. Despite the possibilities being this limited, the outcome cannot be fully determined without one, or multiple, test subjects. All experiments are original works by Roy42 and copyright Frozen Treasure Studios 2010.
1. The Rage

**The Rage**

by Roy

•

Phineas' fingers flew over the keypad so fast; he wasn't even sure he'd hit all the buttons, but the phone was already dialling. As the speaker rang, Phineas held his hand up to his nose. It was bleeding. Why didn't he notice that until now? He walked over to where the coffee table normally was and plucked a few tissues from the box that lay on its side.

Pressing the phone between his ear and shoulder, the redhead tried to tear the first tissue in half.

…Well, that went over like a lead balloon. Phineas took the quarter-tissue he ended up with and twisted it around until it formed something of a cylinder and pushed it up his right nostril. Nyeyeh; that never got any more comfortable. He ripped another quarter off and repeated the drill for his left nostril.

_"Yeah."_

With his entire face now suitably irritated, but less messy, Phineas walked into the kitchen. Stepping around the glass, he fetched a clean, damp cloth from the sink and began wiping up the blood that had dripped onto his skin. Not that looking good really did anything to benefit the situation, but he knew he'd forget about it if he hadn't done so.

_"Yeah! Hello? Phineas!"_

"Oh!" Phineas only just realised the phone had been answered on the other end. "Yea-Ferb? Yeah — ah, jeez — hey, hey, uh, heheh, hi."

_"Phineas,"_ Uh-oh. From _Ferb's_ tone of voice, _Phineas'_ tone of voice must've given him away. Crap. _"Phineas what'd you do?"_

"Well," He began, in the sort of tone that absolutely no one on the face of Earth, Jupiter, Bob or Qualoz would believe, "it's nothing, y'know, _serious_, or anything, it's jus-"

_"Great; I'm hanging up then. Doot, doot, doot…"_ Ferb interrupted, making his own fake tone as he finished.

"No! I-*sigh*" His tone changed into one of shame. As, he guessed, he really should be feeling right now. Actually…yeah, he felt pretty crummy right about now.

"Look, can you, uh, call…Isabella?" He asked, a lot more meekly than anyone would ever expect of Phineas Flynn.

_"What did you do, Phineas?"_ Yep; he just _knew_ his brother'd be mad at him. Knew it.

"I didn-" He reflexively shot back, before catching himself. "W- Um, well would you believe me if I said 'I don't know'?"

_"No. No I wouldn't."_ Ferb's reply came in monotone. Despite it being true, to some degree, Phineas couldn't blame him.

"Okay, well, I really don't. I mean, it just — y'know, _it_ — happened again. That's it." As soon as he'd mentioned that 'it' happened, he swore that he could hear his brother's _sigh_ sigh.

_"You…are…"_ Ferb began, but it sounded like he didn't even know where to go with the sentence.

"Yeah, I know." Phineas said.

_"What's with your voice, by the way¿"_ Ferb asked him. Phineas was half-registering what he meant.

"Huh? Oh; aaaaaaa, aaaaa, aaaaa, yeah." Phineas said, testing to hear the slight nasally quality that the tissues blocking his nose provided. "I got a nosebleed. Don't think it's broken."

_"Well good for her if she did it, then."_ Ferb replied, with a slightly perverse glee in his voice. _"You can't keep do- _we_, can't keep doing this, you know."_

He so did not want to be having this conversation right now. He had made his way to one of the intact dining room chairs and righted it, before sitting down.

"Can…please just call her for me?"

_"One of these days, I'm gonna get tired of saving your relationship, y'know that?"_ Phineas sighed; as long as today wasn't that day…

_"*sigh* …But I'll talk to her. But Phineas? While I'm doing it, you gotta do something about this too."_

Phineas started to tune out slightly. Not that he didn't love Ferb, but he had just heard the same bit over and over. He glanced around the mess he was sitting in.

_"…really not the healthiest thing…"_

Then he saw it. The ring! Out of everything else that lay on the carpeted floor near it, he didn't know — or care, frankly — how he managed to zero in on it, but there it was, among the wood, glass and torn paper that littered the living room as well.

_"…getting worse-"_ "No…" Phineas murmured.

_"What?"_ Ferb asked, but Phineas ignored him. She didn't really leave him for good, did she? Please no, please no, please no.

Phineas seemed to just float towards the ring, his knees miraculously landing without injury on the carpet. He reached for the object, the light dancing around it and the fragments of glass near it.

"It's the ring." He said quietly to Ferb, as he held at eye level.

_"Oh. _Oh._ Oooooh."_ Ferb softly responded. Phineas' legs were getting uncomfortable in the dojo-style kneeling position. He shifted to be sitting down normally. Sighing, he brought both hands to rest on his knees; his head fell down, along with his eyelids.

Dammit…

_"…"_ He could hear Ferb's voice coming through the speaker; all nonsense while the phone was down with his hands. He glanced up at his ha-what?

Wait a sec…

_He_ didn't have his ring on.

_He_ didn't have his ring on!

"I don't have…" He tried sliding the ring on his-IT FIT!

Apparently he had been holding his breath; he let the air burst out, laughing in relief for a few seconds.

_"Vvnss?"_ went the phone. Oh, right; this was one of those old fashioned audio phone-things. He brought the device back to his ear.

"Ferb, it's my ring. It's-it…" He was still trying to still himself from his grateful laughing fit. "It must've just come off or something, I don't know."

_"Well thank God for that."_ Ferb said. A good, accurate sentiment. _"I guess, forget everything I just said, then."_ Should he tell him that… nah.

"No problem, bro. Um…yeah. So, can you give her a call?" Again, it was like millions of souls were screaming in pity, wrapped up in the one sigh. He kinda preferred them both being happy that he wasn't going to have to start finding unbroken china to start sorting for the two of them.

_"Like I said: I will, but you've _got_ to not let this happen again, man. I'll let you know when I'm done. Or maybe I won't have to, who knows. See ya."_ Phineas closed his phone as the actual dial tone began its monotonous chant.

He took another look around the room. Yeesh… This would take some work to clean up. Not just the physical mess, either.

How did this happen? How? How could he _let_ this happen, was a better question. Always the same thing: He would be doing…something, but he always forgot. Just ending up in a trashed room, pretty much always on his own. He really preferred when he was younger. Sure, the same thing occurred, but they were always over in a flash; and he never seemed to have done any real damage to anyone or himself. Longer and more destructive was the exact opposite of what a person would generally want to be happening.

He was Phineas Flynn! He just didn't act like this; and yet, he did. It wasn't his fault.

Really!

How could he not remember anything that happened? Every single time, it just happened. He'd barely remember what was going on in the few minutes preceding it, then…just, it. Blind fury; a rage that he couldn't see, hear or understand anything during. Nothing that happened while he was like that he ever remembered.

What the hell had he done this time? Roughly half of the room that wasn't bolted down was in a different place, upended, slightly broken or just completely obliterated altogether! Easily his worst 'episode' yet, to say the least.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Picking himself up, he moved into the kitchen. He pulled the garbage back out of the dustbin and set it agains the corner, as open as possible. He located their dustpan — why was it next to the fridge? — and started sweeping up the loose debris.

Worst part was that he fully knew that, on some level, it was all necessary.

It was a part of him; simple as that. He was no idiot. Hell, he was a freakin' genius, if he were to ever be smug enough to admit it outside of his head, anyway. Even though a lot of what he knew was practical skills, he had a pretty good understanding of the human psyche. He _knew_ that it was necessary.

He knew that, no matter how much he'd hate it and himself for it, his moments of rage were something that he had to live with. No person is flawless. Ferb had his thing about being a ladykiller — and being very, very aware of it — and becoming narcissistic as he got older; Candace had her thing about being 73% crazy… everyone had something.

He had this.

It sucked that his thing could get dangerous at times — and could possibly see him in a padded room or behind bars one day — but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Everyone has to accept that everything you are — your character, your actions, your positive traits _and_ the negative — defines you.

His rage defined him.


	2. The Interview

**The Interview**

by Roy

•

Yeah, sorry I got here late. Oh, right, so it's recording now? Okay, right. Uhhhhmmm… Ah, come on, I had it, like, two seconds ago when I was walking in here…

Ah! Okay, yes. Okay, now I remember. Wasn't important, though, so, y'know, nevermind. Let's just, ye- let's keep going.

Um, really nothing special happened the first couple o' years of my life. I, I mean I can't even really remember it that well. Just a bunch of people being really impressed because I was some kind of child prodigy, or whatever. Really, as far as I'm concerned, my life didn't properly begin until I met my brother.

Uh, yeah. Step-brother, really, but I was like…three? Again, I don't remember the time, just the event. So I was so young; I couldn't call him something that made it feel like he wasn't fully my brother. Fully a part of the family. Also it was easier. You ever tried saying 'step-brother' as normal? Nobody that young could make that a second nature-type thing.

But uh, yeah, no. I'll never forget a day _after_ we had our new family, though. I guess I really owe that to him. My brother, yeah.

So, um, a little- I just need to go back a little bit for a second. So, the whole thing about me being a child prodigy was because I wasn't even two and, like, the stuff that I was making, with, um, the building blocks, those things. Yeah; it was just out of this world. That and Legos. I think I actually scared some adults for a few seconds when I got my hands on Legos. Heh.

Apparently I might have been either autistic, or the one kid in, like, 500,000 or whatever? The one kid that is just some kind of natural born genius. Or something. I'd always be too busy, y'know, _doing_ stuff to bother listening to old crap about me in my childhood.

_Any_way. Just finding out that made me so happy. I mean, I know for a fact that I'm not autistic, so I was the odd one out. Then, meeting another kid, born in the same year I was… I mean, the odds of me being that one kid are, well. Obviously. But on top of that, the odds of my new brother being the odd one out of another, however-many-it-is. That's just so _astronomical_, that, y'know, it just…I…it's insane. That's, y'know, all I ca-heheh-n, all I can say. Insane.

Ahh, what was I talking about before? Wh-oh, right. I was getting off track. Bringing it back around. Soooo, I was talking about how I won't forget anything after I met my brother, right? And so my point about how I owe it to him is that he was just like me. _Is_ just like me. We both loved-_love_, to make things. Right from Day One, we were doing what we loved to the best of our ability. It was just, this, like, great feeling, ya know?

It only got better as we got older. I think…losing most of the year to school, once we started going. That was pretty significant as well. I actually think it was better for us. It kinda made us appreciate the days even more. Weekends were okay, but Summer was really our time to shine. With everything we did, we were on top of the world. Literally; we did that one day. Made a massive tower. Reached into space at the peak, I think.

Didn't manage to see how high it really went, though. This giant mechanical…thing, didn't get a good look at it, it accidentally crashed through it. Took the whole tower with it, too. Right before we were about to take everyone up for a tour.

Mmm; throat's kinda getting a bit dry-you got any water, or something? Thanks.

…

Where was I? *Hhhhaaaaaahhhhhh* A lot of the stuff we did-actually…I think _all_ of the things we'd make, just managed to disappear at the end of the day. But, uh…yeah. Didn't _really_ bother us, though. Mostly because, like I said; I'll never forget any of it anyway.

Hang on…it's Tuesday-what's the time?

Oh, God; I forgot, I'm meeting my girlfriend for lunch in like, three minutes or whatever. Um, ye-ah-yeah, sorry I've gotta cut this short; gotta go. Can we finish this up some other time? I, I just really spaced on planning this.

Okay, yeah. Sounds good. Well, this has been fun — again, sorry — and everything.

Say again? Oh, Ferb? Nah, nah; it's Enferteb. Yeah, my mum's ancestry goes back to somewhere in Europe. Can't remember where, though. I should look it up, shouldn't I… Um, but yeah. When Dad got remarried and we moved to America, um, my brother — cause, y'know, we were both toddlers — he couldn't get the name right for the life of him.

Well, no. I mean, _I_ only knew how to say it because it's my name, obviously. I heard it every single time anyone was talking to me. But Phineas, every time he'd try to say it, he'd go "E…ffer…eb" and after something like two days of living with my new family, he comes to me and he just goes "Ferb". And, y'- I can get how he got that. Was actually pretty clever of him, considering how young he was.

Personally, I'm a little curious if he even remembers my real name. 'Cause after he started calling me that, I took to it as well; and then just everyone was calling me that.

No, no; I actually really like it, though. Three syllables is always too long a name to try and say on a consistent basis, I find. If you do, there's usually a shortened form of the name that's easier on the tongue. You don't call most people Nicholas, you'd call them Nick. Or William; most of the time a person who was called William would go by Will, or Willy, or Bill or Billy. One or two syllables is just…it's easier.

Oh yeah… Well Phineas is sort of a special case, then. Because I don't know anyone that needed, um, it might be because the 'e' just slurs into it and it feels more like two than three- it's-it's, th- grammar rules. You probably wanna ask a college professor about that, though. Yeah. Not me, no.

Anyway, um, yeah; really gotta get going. I'll give you a call later and we can get this set up when I have more time. Thank you. See ya later!


	3. The Chat

**The Chat**

by Roy

•

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN…

To say that Phineas was apprehensive about this would be like saying Antarctica can get a little nippy at times. He stared at the computer screen, finger hovering over the mouse button to enter the chat room.

He didn't like the fact, but as his oh-so-loveable sister Candace had pointed out, he was 23, had no girlfriend, lived with his pet platypus in a small apartment and had no actual human friends.

His social circle could stand to expand somewhat.

His one not-a-complete-twat acquaintance from work had suggested an online chat room to remedy the situation.

"But…won't that just keep me inside more?" Phineas had asked. Apparently this wasn't the case. Using a few simple diagrams on the whiteboard, his coworker explained how so.

"See, ya go online, meet someone that lives nearby, make friends with them in real life, then you either:

"A, go clubbing with them as your wingman and develop a romance with some girl through a couple dances, but you don't get her name and you spend ages trying to meet her again because this is true love…"

Though he wasn't yet done, as he pause for air, Phineas recalled having seen the scenario described played out in various T.V shows and movies before.

"…or B, they have a small group of friends. Ya go out on a casual thing with them all. While you're there, you fall helplessly in love with one of the girls in the group. She also likes you; and the two of you spend like, two months awkwardly trying to make something happen without ever being upfront about your feelings. Then the rest of the group gets bored with you two dancing around like Ross and Rachel, locks you both in a supply closet, one thing leads to another and you're together. In more ways than one, possibly."

Phineas just stared incredulously at the guy.

"…You really, _really_ need to watch less TV."

His coworker raised an eyebrow questioningly, clearly not getting what he meant.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…I mean, that's…both of those are the kind of plot you get in your typical Summer Feel-Good. What was your next suggestion; go to a coffee shop and meet the girl of my dreams ordering the same thing as me?"

His coworker shot him a half-hearted glare.

"Y'know, this is why we don't do stuff outside of work. You just don't-"

"If," Phineas interrupted, "I, if I agree to do the chat room thing, will you spare me your TV and film spiel?"

"I-heheheh…alrighty then. Let's go."

While chat sites were blocked under their workplace's network, Phineas had all the steps he'd need written down for him. He was shown which sites to try, which to steer clear of; what he should reveal about himself and what he shouldn't. With the final piece of advice being that he use extreme tact on chat rooms, he was left to his own devices.

Which is where Phineas found himself now. Staring at a computer screen. Finger hovering over the mouse button. About to enter the chat room in search of friends. 90% apprehensive, 10% feeling pretty sad for himself.

Ah, what the hey.

*CLICK*


	4. The Difference

**The Difference**

by Roy

•

Phineas did a double-take when he saw Isabella. There was something…different about her. At least, he _thought_ there was something different about her. For all he could see of her, she was exactly the same as when she had left yesterday.

"Hey guys!" she called, walking over to the tree from the gate. Phineas' head went into overdrive; and that was saying something, considering how quickly he got things done normally.

Was it her hair? Yeah, a new haircut; that had to be it. Except…no, she still had her hair styled in the same, shoulder length, curly fashion it had been the last month since this year's Summer vacation had started. Of course it was. Why would she change it? It suited her great; she looked fantastic with it the way it was.

Well it wasn't her hair, nothing special about that…maybe she had done something different with her clothes?

Ah, no; _duhhhh_. Why'd he even think that? She was wearing the same sundress she'd been for months, after she just woke up one morning and was bored with the constant pink…pinkness she surrounded herself with; and picked out a light, cool blue number. The thin shoulder straps really complimented the slight darkening of the skin around that area that inevitably came with constant outdoor activity, despite sunscreen's best efforts.

Well, her frankly beautiful dress wasn't any different; nothing special about that. Her body was still the same, perfectly proportioned self; she hadn't grown or shrunk at all since yesterday — and he'd be kinda worried about her if she had — so it couldn't be that.

Hmm…

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, having reached the two of them. Well that took awhile; must've taken a minute for her to walk from the gate to the tree. Still, to be expected when you keep making time slow down; Phineas made a mental note to ask her how she was doing that.

"Hi Isabella," Phineas said, pushing the possible plans over to the side, where Ferb began collecting them. "We're gonna make a tunnel of love, like the Tunnel of Love at the Midsummer's Festival."

"Really?" Isabella asked, in a pleasantly dreamy tone. Phineas wondered why she didn't talk like that more often; it was really nice.

"Really?" Ferb asked, in a slightly confused tone.

_'Really?'_ Phineas' subconscious asked himself, in the same tone Ferb had used.

"But I thought-" Ferb tried to say, before he was cut off by Isabella.

"Wow, that sounds great!" Isabella exclaimed excitedly. Phineas was happy it made her excited…

"Yeah, it's for Candace and Jeremy. It was their anniversary last week, so we wanted to do something for them." Seeing her face fall slightly, Phineas knew he must've said something wrong. Must fix it…quickly!

"Oh," Isabella said softly.

"B-but we can all go on anyway too," Phineas jumped back in, trying to cheer her up again. He couldn't figure how he'd upset her, but it hardly mattered now, as much as making her feel better. "I mean, we'd have to test it out, right?"

Isabella's smile returned, to Phineas' relief. Up this close, he couldn't help but check Isabella's face. Without her noticing, lest he freak her out. He didn't want to freak her out; that'd be terrible!

The passing hypothesis that she was wearing makeup of some kind that made her look different fell over as he checked her nice, soft looking skin. Just like always, she still hadn't started putting on makeup, ignoring the peer pressure of her former Fireside troop members. It made him glad that she hadn't, though. Far as he was concerned, she didn't need any makeup on at all. She just managed to have that natural way of looking cute.

Probably 'cause she still retained a tiny bit of baby fat. Made her cheeks look great when she smiled. Plus she had really cool teeth. Also her eyes had a natural sparkle to them. She didn't need makeup.

So, nothing of interest about her face either. Well that ruled out everything about her that he could see; and whatever there was different about her was when he looked at her. If he couldn't see it, how could he see it?

After Isabella stopped slowing down time again, the three began working on the tunnel. Still, throughout the day, Phineas couldn't get Isabella out of his mind. He stole looks at her when he could; he had to figure out what had changed about her! It was starting to worry him; Isabella, his best friend (after Ferb, naturally) was different somehow and he didn't know what it was. It might be problematic for her! He didn't want anything bad happening to her, after all.

No matter how hard he thought about it, though, this different thing about Isabella eluded Phineas' thoughts. Still, he knew it…whatever _it_ was, was different. He might not be able to say exactly what it was, but he could definitely feel it.


	5. The Rumour

**The Rumour**

by Roy

•

"Hey Phineas!" called Isabella from behind him, as the 13 year-old boy in question began heading down to the mall. He turned on the spot and smiled as she approached.

"Hi Isabella," replied Phineas, giving his first ever girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek; both of them blushing, a necessary side-effect.

"So, whatcha doin'?" she asked, widening her future husband's smile with the catchphrase.

"Goin' to the mall," he said, gesturing over his shoulder in its general direction. "Ferb's got a thing happening over there. You wanna come?"

Her face drooped slightly. "I would," she said, "but I've gotta do some work to get my fourth level Removalist Patch. It's actually pretty tricky: I've got to pack up everything in my bedroom into two boxes and get those, plus the furniture in there, out the front in five hours."

"Wow," Phineas said, "that is pretty hard. Is there any way I can help out?"

Isabella shook her head for a few seconds, before the movement slowed to a stop. "Actually… I think we could get away with it by arguing that according to safety guidelines, I should always have a partner to help lift heavy objects."

The two of them grew enormous, cheeky smiles; Isabella for being able to cheat-without-cheating the system; Phineas for being able to help Isabella. The two immediately ran towards the young girl's home.

"Oh, wait," Phineas said, skidding to a halt, "I just need to text Ferb." He quickly flipped out his phone and began keying in a simple message:

_helping isabella with a patch. cant make it sorry._

About 30 seconds later, he was up in Isabella's room. Looking all around, the first thing that he just _had_ to point out was, "I don't know if all those stuffed animals would fit in two boxes alone. Or five, for that matter."

The day suddenly brightened for Isabella, who realised proper how much better it would be to have Phineas helping her. As the requisite five hours went onwards, there wasn't a mere five _minutes_ that didn't contain anything between a giggle and full-on laughing fit.

18 hours later, Phineas found himself waking up, slightly stiff from the previous day's work, but ready to seize the day all the same. Bounding down the stairs, he heard the TV playing; looking in, he saw it was courtesy of Ferb and Baljeet. He jumped into the soft cushion next to his brother; unfortunately, his plans to enjoy it were interrupted by Baljeet, who screamed in terror; Ferb leapt off of the couch and into a martial-arts defensive position in respondence.

"Wuh!" went Phineas. Ferb looked at his ready-for-combat arms and awkwardly lowered them, while Baljeet calmed himself, somewhat. "Uh, good morning, guys?"

"How are you here? You and Isabella were skipping jury duty and you had to stash everything you had on a boat to Venezuela before the police found you; then you were going to disguise yourself as Malaysian sweatshop workers and go underground for the next 10 years, building the resistance!"

As Baljeet struggled to catch his breath from blurting all that out in a single moment of panic, Ferb quickly added, "Just for the record, I didn't believe any of that."

"Wait, what?" Phineas asked, still hung up on the Indian boy's accusation, "Baljeet, what the heck are you talking about? I was never going anywhere!"

"B-but, I hear…"

"Where did you hear that from?" Phineas asked, more bewildered than angry.

"Well, Buford told me about it," Baljeet began; though before he could finish, Phineas had made up his mind.

"Why would Buford say something like that? C'mon, Ferb, let's-"

"Wait!" Baljeet said drastically, cutting the redhead off, "I heard it from Buford, but _he_ said he heard it from someone _else_."

Phineas could already see the direction things were starting to go. "So you're saying this is some long chain of people making stuff up?" he asked.

Baljeet remained on the defensive, saying, "No; Buford said that it was true; and so did the person who told him. It may have been…_distorted_…after awhile, but-" Before he could finish, however, an urgent knocking came from the front door. Phineas opened it to see Isabella, looking somewhere between confuzzled, angry and 'can I just lean on you for support? I really need this.'

"You would not _believe_ what I just heard about us," she said.

Looking over his shoulder at his small friend, Phineas said, "Yes. Yes I would."


	6. The Wish

If you've been enjoying my little experiments so far, be sure to leave a review.

If you would have liked to see one of the previous experiments in more detail, head over to my profile and vote on which experiment you'd like to see be retold as a fully separate story.

* * *

**The Wish**

by Roy

•

_Star Light, Star Bright,_

_The first star I see tonight,_

_The only star, that I see,_

_In the skies, over me_

_•_

_Hear my prayer, hear my call,_

_The thing I want, most of all_

_It always is just out of reach_

_I want to hold it, like a leech_

_•_

_Maybe, if I tell you more,_

_I promise, that it's not a bore,_

_Maybe then, you'll understand,_

_Why I want to hold her hand_

_•_

_Yes, my wish is for a girl,_

_The prettiest in the world,_

_When she smiles, I could fly,_

_When she frowns, I could cry_

_•_

_When we first met, I could tell,_

_She was so pretty; nice as well,_

_The love was instant, there's no doubt,_

_Babbling from my mouth did spout_

_•_

_She just giggled, said hello,_

_I just went, with the flow,_

_But still I knew she was the one,_

_I'd be with till my life was done_

_•_

_Everyday I do my best,_

_Even if I never rest,_

_As long as I can see her smile,_

_I know it was worth the while_

_•_

_Even if it takes me years,_

_And I must face all my worst fears,_

_I wish that we could be together,_

_Holding close in the bad weather_

_•_

_It must seem like a crazy thing,_

_To be so young for this feeling,_

_But it must be true, I know it must,_

_It's in my heart, in which I trust_

_•_

_I want to yell from on the roof,_

_To those up close and those aloof,_

_That I love her, with all my soul,_

_To be with her, my one true goal_

_•_

_I want to keep on saying more,_

_To talk until my throat is sore,_

_But as I look above my head,_

_I think our special time is dead_

_•_

_With other stars now in my sight,_

_You don't seem to appear that bright,_

_But I still know that on this night,_

_You were first to show your light_

_•_

_And now I've shared my soul this night,_

_I hope you understand my plight,_

_I wish I may, I wish I might,_

_Please…_

_PLEASE…_

_Have the wish I wish tonight._


	7. The Question

**The Question**

by Roy

•

Exhausted, geniuses Phineas and Ferb entered their room; Phineas not even having the energy to lift his arms, instead letting his face push the door open. Despite their uncharacteristic lack of energy, a completely characteristic smile adorned Phineas' face. Ferb's face, well…his eyes still gleamed. That counts, right? Yeah, that counts.

"Man, that was awesome," Phineas said, as both boys fell onto their beds simultaneously. In the aftermath of the party, complete, embracing, comforting silence had enveloped the room; the entire house, in fact. The two simply remained on their soft, cool beds, waiting for the energy to move to return to them.

Eventually, after probably a bazillion hours of not moving, Phineas started shifting. He kicked off his shoes, Ferb slowly following suit. Within seconds, the stench of feet that had spent 40 hours globetrotting filled the room. At the very least, it acted as a motivator for Ferb to get up, even if it was only to open their window.

Suddenly, Phineas bounced up into a sitting position, like he'd just opened up a spare energy reserve. The boy looked completely reinvigorated, impossible as it might have seemed. Ferb, on the other hand, kept at the lethargic pace an observer would expect. By the time Phineas was almost finished wriggling into his pyjama pants, Ferb's shoes had only just been removed. He quickly tossed them into the decontamination chamber the two had created to prevent their daily escapades from destroying the house with stinky feet.

While Ferb busied himself with falling off the side of his bed removing his trousers, Phineas, fully clothed in his pyjamas now, looked out the window. Whilst already being behind the horizon, the lingering light from the Summer Solstice-sun tinted the sky a variety of enchanting, deep purples, blues and even slight tinges of green nearest the sun.

The perfect temperature, with no wind at all; the fresh air — grassy, with a bit of earth mixed in, despite the sweaty texture of the air just a few feet below them — wafting through their window; and a sky that many would argue never exists outside of paintings.

"Arcadia," Ferb simply said, joining his brother in his enjoyment of the view. Phineas had to agree; for all he was concerned, they lived in paradise.

"Y'know, Ferb?" Phineas said, not bothering to turn his head, "I think this really could possibly have been the best day ever." With a casual glance downward, he noticed Candace and Jeremy. The two each were wearing an earphone from Jeremy's MP3 player; swaying slowly to his music.

"Especially for Candace," he said, withdrawing from the windowsill. "It looks like her and Jeremy got to advance their relationship considerably, even though it wasn't in Paris."

"Mmm," came Ferb's reply-hum, from his lying down in bed. Phineas looked over at him as he pulled his covers up over his body. He noticed, his eyes… Sadness mixed with his tired expression. Not a second later, it hit him.

"Oh, right. You and Vanessa. Sorry, Ferb." The sleepy Brit shrugged his shoulders, as if to say 'oh well'.

He would have replied properly, were he not already falling into his R.E.M state of consciousness. As such, another hum resounded around his face while he shrugged. Phineas' little burst of energy from before looked to be leaving him, as his eyelids started putting on the pounds rapidly. Thoughts slowed down…

"Hey Ferb?"

"Mmm…"

"I hadn't asked… How did you know Vanessa? …Like, how'd you meet a girl like her?"

Coherence graced Ferb's mind for a few more seconds. For long enough that he remembered his and Vanessa's first encounter. Long enough that he now had something he'd be contently dreaming about all night long.

"Mmmutual interests." The hum morphed itself mid-flight into his answer. Maybe it was that he was half-asleep as well, but Phineas took the response as he gave it; not probing any further.

"Mmfflsgr…" came out from around Phineas' side of the room. The young boys' conversation ended at that; and the two finally drifted off into their own personal Nod.

The question was unimportant; the answer cryptic; both forgotten by morning.


	8. The Introduction

**The Introduction**

by Roy

•

Hi there, New Kid.  
Are you okay?

I know how hard it is.  
The first day of school, I mean.  
No one will be your friend.  
Everyone has a group.  
And you don't seem to belong.  
They push you away.

Make you feel alone.

Ignore you.

Make fun of you.

"Check out the New Kid."  
That's what they say.  
"He's got no friends."  
Like it's so funny.  
But it's not.

I'm sorry, New Kid.  
For everyone else, I mean.  
They'll come around.  
Don't worry, they will.

But it's okay, New Kid.  
You don't have to wait.  
_I'll_ be your friend.  
_We'll_ have a group.  
That sounds fun.  
Doesn't it?

You don't talk much.  
Are you shy, New Kid?  
I know how that feels.  
Because I was new, too.  
I had no friends either.

What's that, New Kid?  
You'll be my friend back?  
Well thank you.  
Hey, wait a second!  
You talked to me!  
That's great, New Kid!

Your voice sounds weird.  
Are you from another country?  
Wow, that's so cool, New Kid.  
And that's so far away, too.  
I hope I can go there.  
We could go together.

I'm talking a lot.  
Sorry, New Kid.  
I do that a lot.  
Does it bother you?  
It's just exciting.  
We're friends now!  
Maybe I can teach you.  
To talk more, I mean.  
Then you won't be shy.

Well, I have to go now.  
Because lunch is over, I mean.  
You could come over.  
I have some cool toys.  
We could play with them.  
That'll be fun!

I'll see ya later, New Kid.  
Hey, wait a second.  
I'm sorry I did that.  
Calling you New Kid, I mean.  
I never asked your name.

Phineas?  
That's a funny name.  
I like it.  
My name's Ferb.

Phineas and Ferb.  
I like the sound of that.  
That'll be our group.  
People will cheer our names.

Someday.

We'll be best friends.

Phineas and Ferb.


	9. The Confession

**The Confession**

by Roy

* * *

"Can we talk?"

The question, blurted by Phineas almost before she had even walked through the side gate, caught Isabella by surprise. She had been all ready to ask what they were doing. It felt like the cosmos had shifted out of balance now she'd been interrupted. Whatever Phineas wanted to talk to her about, it better have been important.

Only once the two left the backyard and headed up towards Phineas' room did Isabella actually realise what was going on.

Phineas?

Wants to talk?

And they're going to his room?

To his room?

_**To his room?**_

Only years of her old Fireside training, coupled with her natural strong demeanour, kept her from falling backwards down the stairs. Although, if she did, Phineas would likely feel concerned for her and stay by her side the whole time she had to get better in the land of the centaurs!

But no. That was probably just another useless fantasy. This could be the real deal. In fact, she knew it was. It _had_ to be. That purposefulness in his voice; the urgency; _"I need to talk to you, Isabella. It's a matter of life and death. Only you can help the galaxy now."_

While her mind raced at 30,285 miles per hour, the young adults exited the stairs and continued their trek to the boy's room. Unknown to each of them, they both found the hallway to be taking a long time to walk down. It had stretched an awful lot since they'd last been there.

What was probably an hour later, Phineas' bedroom door burst open.

"Uh, sit down?" Phineas… well he probably _meant_ it as a statement, despite its uncertain delivery. Nevertheless, Isabella sat down on his bed, followed by the love of her life; she _swore_ he was getting more nervous by the second. One of those giant beads of sweat could have been hanging from his forehead by now, just like in those Japanese shows she used to watch.

"So, uhhmm…"

"…"

"…So, I wanted to tell you that, well… uhhmm…"

"…Y-yeah?"

She wished she could help him get the words out. If only she knew what was going through his head right now…

* * *

This was a mistake. He knew that- he _**knew**_ that he shouldn't have done this. All his practicing of what he'd say to Isabella the last couple of days payed him no respect now. He was just a stupid, blubbering idiot.

_'Come on, you can do this. Deep breath, come on!'_

"Okay," he said, much more relieved at how stable his voice had become again. "We've known each other a long time now, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, so…"

_'Ah, screw this, I can't do it that way.'  
_"Ah, screw this, I can't do it that way."  
Ah, screw this, he couldn't do it that way.

"I know you like me. Like, like-like, _like_ me. Love me? I-I know you've had a crush on me for…must've been years now."

"…Oh," came her reply. It might not even have been her. Isabella's entire face just seemed to stop moving at all as soon as he'd said that. Which could only mean… Oh no; he'd broken her brain, hadn't he?

Wait…

No; that was ridiculous. Internally, a puppet-Phineas smacked himself upside the head. But still, he'd like to know what was going on in her head, now that he had no body language or facial expressions to read at all…

* * *

He knew?

He _**knew?**_

Well, abandon ship; all hope was lost. He probably wanted to tell her that there was no way on Earth they could be together.

…Also that he didn't love ponies.

…And he actually _wasn't_ a glorious centaur.

…And something else that was also probably bad.

"Are you okay? Isabella?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. Maybe fainting on the stairs wouldn't have been such a bad idea.

_'What's the matter with you?'_ went her inner self. For some reason it was characterised in her head as a "Tiny Horsey of Mine" horsey…

_'That's not the Isabella that Phineas definitely, 100% is in love with; is it?'_ Umm, no?

_'Of course not! You can't give up yet; you don't know what he's gonna say next!'_ Well, Horsabella had a point there.

Yeah… Yeah! Horsabella had a point!

_'That's the spirit! Now you'd better say something, before Phineas waves his arm off.'_

Isabella exited her mind and found Phineas was waving his hand in front of her face. Startling both of them, she grabbed it.

"Uhh…" she said, still holding his arm. It was so warm and soft and nice and Phineas. The same reasons she immediately dropped it like it was coated in Pinky's slimy drool.

"How long did you know about, um, how long?"

"Sometime when I was 12." A remarkably certain answer, it seemed.

"Really? That long?" she asked. How could he-"How could you have known for over a year and never said anything to me?" It probably came out a bit harsher than she would ever mean anything to him to sound — unless she was giving him a pep-talk or something — but from the way he looked down at her query… Not good.

"It's because…I-I've talked to just about everyone I know about this, okay?"

"About wh-"

"Ferb, Candace, Stacy, Jeremy," he barrelled over her; how gentlemanly, "not my parents, obviously, Baljeet, even Buford; and he laughed at me for a little while after I talked to him and didn't really help any."

She didn't want to accidentally interrupt him again, but tentatively reached out, "So…"

"And I just…" By that point, she realised it: He must've been talking from something he'd practiced before. Maybe it was that he'd forget it if he didn't finish it all quickly? In any case, she sat and waited for him to run out of juice.

"I just couldn't figure how to tell you. Isabella, I've really wanted to tell you, for a _long_ time. And I mean, the longer I waited, the-I'd wait longer and you would keep trying to get me to notice you. I've been noticing you. Frankly, I think I was blind as a bat to have not noticed it before; Ferb told me it went on since we were like, 9 or 10."

Her lack of a need to actually respond sent her accidentally back inside her head.

_'See? Just like I told ya', isn't it¿ He loves you so much he's even rambling about you!'_ Yeah, he totally was. Horsabella was so right.

"And it's…it's just made it so hard for me to do this; I'm nervous as hell right now."

He looked so uncomfortable at that moment. She knew she had to help him get it out. "Hey, don't be. You can say it; it's all right." Phineas sighed at this. He kind of half-laughed to himself before regaining his composure.

"See, that's why I've been so nervous about this. You're just… I just kept seeing ever since I realised it: You're so patient about it, you never got up in my face about how you felt, you'd just wait for me to one day return it. That, to me, was just so amazing! You're such a great person towards me just as a _normal_ friend, not a girlfriend or anything that anyone else would see as more special and it makes me so scared to say this now."

She was so lucky to be in love with a guy like him. He wasn't afraid to express his feelings at all. It just made him even more desirable.

"But I know I have to say it. I can't just keep dancing around it with you and that's why I asked you up here and I'm _trying_ to say it right now and I just _can't get it out_ and I'm, I'm really, really trying to and I jus-"

Isabella cut him off by leaning over and hugging him. She could just tell; his mind had kicked into overdrive and he needed to calm down.

"Phineas," she said, leaning back out to look him in the eyes, that were intentionally avoiding hers, "Phineas, you can tell me. I'll help you, look-okay. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, or two, or three, or five, or twenty-seven, or whatever. Whenever you're ready, just let it flow out. Don't even think about it."

He nodded, a little shakily, but it was a nod all the same. Closing his eyes, he followed her instructions. The second his eyes closed, Isabella's face broke into a slightly hysterical grin. Again, it was her strong will that kept her calm throughout all of this. She didn't even _know_ her heart could beat that fast. It was so close, he was so close to saying it and the universe would be in perfect order.

Only five breaths later, he spoke, his eyes still closed, "Okay…"

This was it.

"I…"

Here it was.

"I'm, I…"

Finally. She couldn't take it anymore. She blurted it out at the same time.

"I'm gay!" "I do too!"

…

…

…

…

_**"What?"**_


	10. The Machine

**The Machine**

**or METAL**

by Roy Fortitude

•

Together, Phineas and Ferb stared at the machine. Confused, skeptical, but nonetheless with a certain awe, they remained silent, bathed in a soft glow from the LCD display that faced them at eye level, while the machine itself seemed to loom over them in the darkness. It was only about a foot taller than them at most; no reason to be intimidated by such a thing at all. Until they had read the description.

"I-it can't be serious," Ferb said, momentarily shaking the two out of their trance. Phineas leant in to look at the description on the front once again.

"Step right up, be amazed and know your fate: It is The Machine," he read, his deadpan delivery sucking all life from the text, clearly meant to be read out by something of a ringmaster. "The Machine is no joke. The Machine is no lie. The Machine is unquestionable, yadda yadda lots of really short sentences about The Machine."

In the reflection of the booth, Phineas saw his brother give him a look. One of those ones that needs no description, only requiring the knowledge that it is a _look_. He continued, uninterrupted.

"Just place your index finger into the hole below the screen. The Machine will do the rest for you. With a quick blood sample, you can know how you are going to die. But best of all, it's completely free!"

Despite their incredible space-brains, neither male could even begin to fathom how this would even be possible. Still, the way the machine was being presented, whoever put it together was being serious. Still, there was more text; Phineas read on.

"Multiple attempts will not return different results. The Machine is not wrong and The Machine cannot be tricked. Uh… Okay-The Machine represents a remarkable blah blah blah… No, that looks like it. Gather 'round, one and all. See your inevitable end, if you dare. Who is courageous enough to brave The Machine of Death? OoooOOooOOOoOoooh, really spooky."

Phineas leaned out and cast a sideways glance at Ferb. "So," he asked, "I don't know, do we do it, or something?"

Truthfully, neither of them had planned this for their evening. A late-afternoon trip to the movies to see _Space Adventure II: Striking Empirical_ left them in an almost deserted mall. Nobody stuck around on a Sunday, anyway. All the stores had been starting to close before the movie had even started, and the rest of the small crowd that had gone to the movie as well quickly dispersed.

Somehow, between the movie theatre on the top floor and the underground car park, they'd come down a little side corridor to look at it. The kind that just has a couple of bathrooms and the service elevator…and in this case, the machine. Maybe it was that screen… In any case, they both felt it, itching away at their brains when it entered their periphery on their way past the corridor. Everything else was closed for the night, and even from a side-on view, they could see it wasn't some kind of vending machine.

Or maybe it was, now they knew what it was offering.

It just begged to be investigated. It would only take an extra minute; nothing to get the security guards' panties in a twist. Actually, where were those mall cops? They knew they had to have been staring at this thing for at least five minutes. Phineas' watch had beeped to signal that the hour had come a few minutes ago, which should mean the mall was closed. Yet no lights were seen from flashlights; just this machine's screen. No sounds of footsteps were heard either; just breathing, along with the almost inaudible humming, buzzing, whine of the display.

"Well, I guess we… I-maybe we should do it." Despite the lack of upward intonation towards the end, it was more of a question than a statement. Which would have helped if Ferb wasn't basically looking to Phineas for the exact same sort of guidance that Phineas was seeking from the former.

"Why not?" Ferb finally asked. Phineas turned over his shoulder to look at the slightly-older male. "It'll be a laugh; why not?" But despite his seemingly confident assertion of the situation, neither one made a move.

As they continued staring for God-knows-how-long at the machine, it seemed like the world was fading out. Not even the soft, blueish light that came with nighttime, that they had been in when they made their way over to the area. By now, it was just them. Them and the machine.

Floating in a big, empty, inky, black…nothingness.

They weren't even properly aware of it, not on a fully conscious level, anyway. Only deep down, in a lower level of their mind, they knew, they _knew_ that they weren't in the mall anymore. Well, they _were_, obviously, but they also weren't. They were somewhere else, somewhere they couldn't define. Somewhere they knew they wouldn't be able to leave until one of them, or maybe both, had bitten the bullet and decided to put their finger in the machine.

And then they heard a jingle.

Ferb's mobile phone in his pocket started vibrating. Suddenly they were back in the mall. Ferb's hand slid into his shorts and pulled out the appliance. He took a glance at the screen and held it in front of Phineas' face. While a little close to make out the fine details, he gathered that it was a text from Isabella.

"Oh, right," he said, absent-mindedly, "Gotta turn mine back on." Pulling a little further away from Ferb's phone, he saw that his girlfriend was apparently waiting for him and getting a little nervous that he wasn't answering. "Jeez, we'd better get going." As he reached into his jeans to turn on his own phone, the two began walking out of the corridor and made their way towards the parking lot.

Nothing was said from the corridor until they reached the lot. Locating their car — not the world's most _difficult_ task, as only it remained — Phineas spoke as if they had been discussing the machine all this time.

"I mean, it just seems weird." Ferb unlocked the doors.

"Why," Phineas opened his door and slid in, "would anyone actually want to use a machine like that?" Ferb slid into the driver's seat.

"Not like I'm saying it could work or anything," Ferb buckled his seatbelt, "but to know how you're gonna die? I mean, it just…"

Phineas trailed off, staring down with a look on his face that grew steadily somber and introspective by the second. A passage from a book he enjoyed had come to mind, in which two people were presented with the choice to do something simple that would almost-certainly result negatively, or to go insane, wondering what could have possibly happened had they done the thing.

Like whiplash, he looked to Ferb instantly. Staring him straight in the eyes, Ferb could see it. In his eyes, he saw a look that he had never seen in Phineas before. He never even thought he ever _would_ see it in Phineas. He knew the look though. A look of purpose. True, unyielding purpose; the owner of that look knew exactly what they wanted — what they _needed_ — to do, and would not stop until they achieved it.

In a flash, Phineas bolted out of the car and tore towards the mall entrance. Ferb tried to get after him as fast as possible, but lost a good five seconds from unbuckling his belt and shutting both doors.

"_**Phineas!**_" he heard echo behind him, but as he all-but flew up the escalators, it didn't matter to him. He knew he _had_ to do this.

First floor… What would it be? Drowning? Car crash? Old Age?

Second floor… Gunshot? Burning? Falling?

Third floor…at last.

Still he didn't slow down. At full pelt, he turned corner after corner to get back there. Even though they'd only gone there once, by _accident_, he knew where to go. He just knew. He knew if he left here now, he'd not only regret it, but he'd have gone mad from the wondering. It would have consumed him. He knew it…somehow. Somehow he was sure that he'd never see it again. It would disappear after today and he'd never get the chance again to know.

Finally he found the corridor. Only ten metres away and even then, it was too far. He reached out his finger and almost jammed it into the hole on the front of the machine, momentarily forgetting the possibility that there were _sharp needles_ or anything like that possibly inside it. When he had stilled, he felt a… a _something_ take hold of his finger, presumably to keep the needle or whatever from missing its mark.

The LCD display changed from its consistent display of "THE MACHINE" to tell him, "ACTIVE. PLEASE WAIT…" Meanwhile, a noticeable hum poured out of the cabinet, while he felt what he could only guess was an alcohol pad rubbed over his finger to disinfect it. Not being able to see his finger made this a little discomforting. What, was it just going to chop it off or something? Not being able to see what was happening made it a little-

"Ow!" Phineas felt something of the aforementioned sharp variety jab into his finger. Almost immediately afterwards, he felt something being sprayed onto his finger, which was about the last thing he felt on it at all. The anaesthetic worked fantastically, reducing the pain to just about nothing. Finally, whatever was keeping his finger in place released him.

About this time, Ferb finally caught up. Phineas sank down to rest against the wall behind him, while Ferb walked up and assessed the situation. The two saw a small slip of paper fall down into a small circular tray near waist-height; the display briefly flashing "ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DAYS." before returning to "THE MACHINE" again.

Phineas reached out to grab the slip, but Ferb snatched it up before he had the chance, clutching it in his closed fist. Phineas looked at him, his eyes now showing a look of longing, like he would feel pain if he couldn't know what was on the little piece of paper.

"Ferb…" he very nearly begged, "please, Ferb…" Phineas reached up to Ferb's fist, using it to pull himself up. Ferb was adamant about not opening his fist…but made no move to either object or keep him from doing so when Phineas tried to pry his fingers open. Soon the paper was in the hands of the one it was intended for. Phineas slowly turned it over to read the actual text, with Ferb unashamedly looking as well.

The paper was as no-frills, plain-as-day as it could get. A simple, white piece of paper; solid, black uppercase letters in Verdana font. In this case, the letters strung together to form one word.

METAL

"Wh…" Phineas started to say, but left it hang in the air. The two stood staring at the paper for nearly a full minute, in a replica of before when they gazed at the machine. Startling the both of them, Phineas crumpled it in a half-second, swift motion.

The two glanced at each other, before looking back at his now closed palms. He threw it over towards the machine like it was toxic. Taking one tentative step backwards, he looked again at Ferb. They both understood between each other. It had been done. It was time to go.

As if joined by a cord, Phineas and Ferb both turned at exactly the same time and ran. The one thing they understood between each other most of all, though, was that they didn't understand the machine. It, truly, scared them.

The Machine Of Death.


	11. The Holiday

**The Holiday**

by Roy

•

_"And do you, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, take Phineas Vincent Justin Edward Jesse Jacob Flynn to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"_

_Isabella looked at her soon-to-be husband, beaming beautifully with that retained boyish charm of his. Both of them could only just manage to blink back their tears. Perfection, floating around with the air for her to breathe and just marinade in. Not a single person doubted the answer that would flow from her perfectly painted lips._

_"I do," she confidently replied, despite both of their faces nearly breaking with an overwhelming flood of happy tears. The priest's words faded into obscurity. She'd already said what she'd waited her whole life to say. He was hers and she, his. The first day of the rest of her life, as the saying goes._

_In fact, the entire wedding faded into a white obscurity. Only her and Phineas remained. Phineas leaned in to kiss his bride, who teetered ever-so-slightly forward herself. She closed her eyes as everything except Phineas' face also faded into white. The kiss was amazing; a fluffy, fabric-y sensation, complete with Phineas' adorable barking noises-_

Wait, what?

"Mmff?" Isabella muffled into the mouthful of pillow she was slobbering against. In two super-slowed-down seconds, she…

Gathered her senses.

Realised she was chewing on a pillow.

Spat out her pillow.

Rolled over to the other, dry side of her bed.

Saw Pinky standing next to her bed, shaking.

Realised she'd been dreaming.

Which really sucked.

Like, seriously.

"Oh, _darn it!_" she exclaimed in frustration, which also help propel her into a sitting position. Out of habit, she rolled over the front of her bed to make sure she didn't end up falling back asleep; her decision instantly regretted when she remembered that it was December and it was really really cold, both outside and in. Looking at her wall calendar, a ear-to-ear grin spread across her face.

Today. The first day.

Fifteen minutes later, Isabella, wrapped snugly in her winter coat and still warm from her breakfast hot chocolate, stepped out into the cold Winter air. Despite the windy chill, she still had a massive smile on her face – one she brought with her to Phineas and Ferb's backyard, along with two small, gift-wrapped packages.

"Hey Phineas," Isabella called out before even entering the gate. As she pushed it open, she followed up with her loveable-if-only-Phineas-would-ever-notice-it, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Hi Isabella," Phineas called over, smiling in spite of the weather, just like her. "We were about to pick between a snowman-"

"Or multiple," Ferb added.

"Or multiple snowmen, that can walk and talk and play with you for Christmas, or hot chocolate that keeps you warm all day after drinking one cup!" When he'd come out of his explanation, he seemed to notice her presence properly; including the objects in her hands.

"Say, whatcha got there?" he asked, abandoning the two blueprints that lay in the snow and walking over to join her.

"Oh," Isabella said, as if only just remembering that she was holding them, "I got you guys both a gift for the first day of Hanukkah. I know it's not that big a deal like Christmas, but I thought you guys might like your presents early." She passed them over to the two boys. "Especially since it's so cold this year."

Both packages were soft and squishy; clearly only one layer separated their gifts and the cold. Phineas' present was wrapped in a colour that sat just on the border of red and orange; just enough traces of the latter to be distinguishable from the former in comparison. Ferb's was wrapped in a deep green, similar to that of his hair. As she had handed them over, the boys noticed — as if it weren't completely obvious anyway — that together they were the traditional red and green of Christmas.

"That's really cool, Isabella!" Phineas said, tearing into the wrapping about a split-second before Ferb. Very quickly the objects in their hands revealed themselves as a pair of homemade Winter scarves. She might have imagined it, but for a fleeting moment, she thought he looked shocked…or maybe he was speechless; blown away.

"Wow, these look great!" Phineas exclaimed while Ferb began wrapping his around the only piece of flesh still exposed to the wind; his face. Isabella spoke as Phineas began wrapping his as well.

"Since the forecast had said this year would be colder than usual, I thought you could use them," she explained. The way that Phineas was staring at her… that look just made her want to blush and look away and run and hide and never come out. Why'd she hafta feel so nervous _now,_ of all times?

"They feel really good," Phineas said as he finished covering the lower half of his face with the new article of clothing. "You definitely deserve your Sewing Patch. And Happy Hanukkah, too!"

As sweet as the moment was — and would go straight in her diary as soon as she returned home — Candace just _had_ to ruin it by sticking her obnoxious head out the window. Just this _one time_ she couldn't ignore them?

"Yo dweebs! Mom called. She doesn't want you guys outside today; weather's gettin' too harsh." The girl practically had to scream to get above the wind, the latter rising in ferocity at an ever-so-gradual pace.

"Well thanks for the scarves, Isabella," Phineas began concluding their little rendezvous, "I guess we won't be doing anything today, but we can hang out inside, since you're here.

Tempting as the prospect was, Isabella — and it pained her, in one form or another, to do so — knew she couldn't.

"Sorry guys, but I still got some other Hanukkah stuff to do with my mom, plus I don't want her to worry."

"Well that's okay, don't feel too bad. We'll letcha know if we decide to do something interesting in case the wind dies down."

With nothing but a few yelled "see ya"s and the like thrown around as she walked to the gate and the brothers walked to their home, Isabella stuck her hands in her jacket and ran as fast as she could back to her own sanctuary.

•

While they waited for the hot water to make some plain-old regular hot chocolate, Phineas felt the spark of inspiration that Candace had cut off when the two were outside earlier.

"We should make something for Isabella in return." With the benefit of hindsight, they would probably realise how callous and stupid it must've sounded to only just then think of politely reciprocating a gift from one of their best friends. At the moment though, it was a great idea.

"Something Hanukkah-y, too," he continued, "I mean it's such an important holiday for Jewish people; I don't think we've actually helped them celebrate it like we do with Christmas." Seeing steam emerge from Phineas' ears, Ferb moved over to the counter to start pouring. Despite not having any indication that he was, Phineas knew he was paying attention.

"It should be something big, especially," he said with a definitive tone in his voice. "Something big and super-special to make up for all the other years we forgot to give her anything. Hmm…" Ferb let his observation on how Phineas clearly seemed to be choosing each specific word carefully go unsaid. Besides, he'd had his own suspicions about it for awhile…

"That's it! Ferb, bring the drinks upstairs; I know what we're actually gonna do today!"

•

Ferb sat and slowly sipped his way through the piping hot cup of cocoa, while Phineas rapidly filled out a blueprint chart. His speedy completion of the plans aside, by the time he was done, his own cup of chocolatey goodness had now become a lukewarm cup of chocolatey blech, with some gooey half-melted marshmallow sitting on top.

When the shorter of the two had finally moved aside, Ferb garnered a look-see at his present idea.

_'Lift to the top, automatic gyroscopic rotation to serve as a homing beacon in times of emergency, built-in liqu-how big is this supposed to be? …Oh.'_

"So?" Phineas asked expectantly. "Whaddaya think?"

"Is it not far too blizzard-y to do this today?" he finally asked, leaning back out.

"It should die down in time. But are you saying you agree with it?"

"…" Ferb studied the blueprints a few seconds longer. "…Why a liquorice dispenser?"

"It's a nice touch," his brother simply responded, eliciting a smirk from the Brit; one that was quickly replaced by a look of repulsion as Phineas, in his excitement to get going, downed his entire aforementioned cup of blech.

And with that, the two set to work in the bleary, cold-like-nothing-else day.

•

"This is great hot chocolate, Mom!" Isabella exclaimed. These were a rare thing; a full day of mother/daughter time. No Firesides, no Phineas and Ferb projects; just the two of them, bonding. Not that she didn't enjoy the former two activities, but still. Viv' and Isa' had wasted most of the day catching up. Far as they were aware, it had only been about 15 minutes since Isabella came back home when a knock resounded through the house.

Regrettably, Isabella pulled herself away from the fire's warmth and moved towards the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw it was Phineas that had-_**Phineas?**_

Hair smooth? Check. Bow straightened? Check. Dress? Okay, good-good-good-good-good. After her five second long "tune up", as she occasionally called it in her head, she pulled the door inward.

"Uh, hey Phineas!" she greeted, hoping that didn't sound as scripted — scripted? Well she wasn't exactly _trying_ to think of a better adjective at the moment — to Phineas as it did to her. In the back of her mind, it registered that the evening was nearly upon them.

"Hey Isabella," Phineas replied-well at least his wasn't exactly any better. "So Ferb and I figured out what we'd do today; and we thought you'd want to take a look."

She was understandably confused. "But weren't you just going to wait out the weather?"

"It wasn't that bad to work in; plus it started dying down in the last couple of hours. You wanna see?"

"Well, isn't it still kinda cold? Can I just come see it tomorrow? I'm a little tired right now." He shifted on the spot, his adorable smile keeping the slight signs of uncomfortableness at going against what she was asking show through.

"Um, it'd really only just take a second…You'll wanna see this now. You won't have to come out very far, either."

Likewise, Isabella would have felt like a primordial slug-beast for saying "no" to Phineas, especially after what he'd just said. Conceding, she quickly ran to find her slippers, not wishing to get her socks wet, obviously.

A short minute or two, Isabella tentatively stepped out onto the outer doorstep, thankfully scraped of snow. Already starting to shiver, Isabella turned to her right to ask Phineas where the thing they'd made was.

And…

Then…

She saw it.

Just the main stand took up her entire initial field of vision. Stepping back and craning her neck upward, Isabella marvelled at the giant menorah that the boys — those two, amazing boys — had constructed. Fighting back tears of happiness, she just let her smile expand until it somehow got so big that it might have broken even _her_ face if she wasn't careful.

Somewhere in the far reaches of her mind, she registered Phineas listing the different details, but she already understood enough about it to know; and it reinforced exactly _why_ she loved him with all her heart.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her over to an elevator-like cage at the base, "I'll show you how to light it."

The elevator spiralled around the base, rising up to a small platform built around the main branch. As it turned out, it was quite possibly the easiest device in the world to activate: A big red button, about as big as Isabella and half of Phineas, that lay in front of them on the metal.

With Phineas' encouragement, Isabella slammed her entire body force into it. At once, the menorah came to life with a whir of unseen mechanisms. While it went among its business, Phineas took her back to the elevator. By the time they'd reached the bottom, her mother had come out to see what the noise was, along with the neighbours.

The branches were now in a slow, consistent rotation around the main branch. Surprising a few people — Isabella included, who nearly grabbed onto Phineas' arms — a massive flame erupted at the top of the main branch, followed a few seconds afterwards by one at the very end of the menorah. With the flames now lit, the machine, though still moving, returned to a much quieter state. She'd be able to sleep through it, definitely.

"We thought that if you had something as big as this, you wouldn't feel like Hanukkah isn't as important as Christmas." he explained.

"Oh Phineas," she started, tears beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes, "it's…it's just so…"

And right about there, a ray flew out from the city, flying straight towards the Danville suburbs. Striking the single biggest target available, the menorah began to shrink down to size. Suddenly, a small crowd of people in clothing hardly appropriate for outdoors at this time of year were looking at a regular — possibly a little larger, if Isabella were to compare — menorah.

One that was still spinning around, mind, but nothing too special. The awestruck bystanders rapidly dispersed with nothing left to see.

"Ah, man!" Phineas exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Not again! That's like the twelfth time this has happened! Whoever's got that shrink ray really needs to unplug it, or at least turn it away from their window or something."

It tore at her little heart; in all the time she'd known Phineas and Ferb and the insane things they built, Phineas never got upset over their creations disappearing at the end of the day. But this…

"It's okay Phineas," she tried to console him as best she thought possible, "I still like it; and it's the thought that counts, right?"

The marginally angry look upon his face almost-instantly melted away. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He walked over to where the menorah now sat in the snow and picked it up. "Well it looks like it still works, so you could still use it; all you have to do is press the button again to light each other branch."

The two turned at the sound of a car pulling up. Phineas' parents, back from their busy Christmas day at the antique store. Linda immediately came over to Phineas and Isabella.

"Phineas, I thought I asked Candace to make sure you stayed inside today," she said, in that motherly tone of hers. "How long have you been out here?"

"Just a few minutes, Mom," he answered without a care in the world. "I was giving Isabella this gift for Hanukkah." On that cue, Isabella outstretched her hands to show the machine.

"Oh, that is so sweet!" Linda exclaimed, praising the detail of the mechanisms and the tiny elevator. She probably assumed they were for Isabella's dolls or something. If she even bothered with dolls.

"Well you still shouldn't be out here dressed like that. You two can see each other again tomorrow. Let's go inside, Phineas. And happy Hanukkah, Isabella!" she called back as the two crossed the street.

Isabella sighed happily as she returned inside to join her own mother. An amazing day; and the best day of Hanukkah she could ever remember.

And if she had had a mind-reader and high-powered binoculars on hand, she might have seen Phineas make the same happy sigh as he went inside, thinking almost exactly the same thoughts.


	12. The Story

**The Story**

by Roy Fortitude

•

_Daddy? Will you tell me a story before I go to bed?_

Well…

_PLEASE?_

Oh, all right then. I've got an extra special story for you tonight. You wanna hear it?

_Ooh! Ooh! Yeah, a new story!_

Okay then, let's make sure you're nice and tucked in then, there we go, good girl. Now, where to begin…

•

Once upon a time, in the far away land of the Three Kingdoms, there was a beautiful girl, named Bell. She was very, very pretty. Her hair was long, silky, and black as night. It flowed down past her shoulders, and enchanted anybody she passed with its beauty. Of course, her hair wasn't the only amazing thing about her. The dress she wore, a cotton-pink ballroom gown, could almost have made flowers grow on the ground it swept.

_Daddy, you already told me about this one. She's a pretty girl that goes on adventures and has a dress that she uses in lots of really cool ways to get out of trouble. It's supposed to be a new story!_

I know, I know, calm down. This _is_ a special story. For you see, it is true: Bell was an adventurous spirit, and she was always travelling in search of the next great adventure. But there is more that I didn't tell you. Like, for example: her name was not actually Bell.

_*gasp* Really?_

Oh yes. That's actually just what everyone called her. When she first came to a large village, where people did not know her name, she attracted attention, because her voice sounded more pleasant than the most expensive, perfect bells of the royal court. And so, she was nicknamed, "Bell". After she continued travelling to other villages, rumours spread; and eventually, that was her name.

_Wooooow…_

But that's not the actual story I was going to tell you. Okay, now that I have your full attention, let's continue.

•

So, as Bell continued in her travels, she came across the town of Dinvale. When she arrived, many of the townsfolk followed her on her way to the inn. I already told you about how everybody felt enchanted by her beauty, right?

_Yeah, you did._

Right. It seemed like every man in the town wanted to marry her. And though she was always happy when people said nice things towards her, she had never found someone that she felt the same way for; as so many people did for her. Until this day. After she had been welcomed into the inn, Bell felt like looking around the town. And as she wandered through the centre of the town, not looking for anything in particular, she saw him.

_Who?_

A man that made her feel something that she had never felt before. As she watched him walk by, her heart suddenly began fluttering. She felt like she was lighter than air; floating on the clouds. She felt as if talking to this man would be her greatest adventure ever. He was a little short, with fiery-red hair that made her feel all warm inside. She watched him walk with another, taller man, into the blacksmith's shop. The whole time, she was stunned, as so many of the people she had seen in other villages and towns would be stunned by her beauty.

_She loved him; didn't she, Daddy?_

That's right: she did. So Bell quickly turned to one of the villagers and asked him who the man was. She was told that his name was Finn; and the other man was his brother, Fletch. Together, they were the town blacksmiths, and also inventors. She quickly took off towards the blacksmith's shop. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to listen to what else the villager had to say; which was very important.

_What was it, Daddy?_

Well, she had walked in and saw Finn's brother, Fletch, working on a sword. When he saw her, he paused to talk to her. Just as she was about to ask him where Finn was, however, he walked into the room. And even though she had thought that he was as handsome as anyone could be from far away, he was even more so up close. He was _so_ handsome, in fact, that she would have mistaken him for a prince. The most handsome man in the whole wide world.

_*giggle*_

And then it happened. Finn walked towards her… He came right up close to her… He looked her right in the eyes…

_And then what?_

And then…he walked past her!

_Wh-what?_

He went straight past her and kept going, out of the room.

_No! Daddy, that's not how it's supposed to go! He's supposed to fall in love with her as well and then they both get married and live happily ever after! You're not doing it right!_

Okay, okay, shhhhh… Come on, it's late; I think you should maybe get some sleep. You can hear the rest of it tomorrow night.

_Oh, no Daddy, I wanna hear the rest of it now! Pretty please?_

I-

_Please-please-please-please-please?_

All right, all right. You promise not to interrupt until the story's over?

_I promise!_

You mean it? Pinky swear?

_Pinky swear! Pleeeeaaase keep going, Daddy!_

Okay then. So Bell asked Fletch why Finn didn't go crazy for her. As it turned out, a horrible accident one day while they were working had caused Finn's eyes to get badly hurt.

_You mean he can't see?_

Not quite: he could see, but it would all be blurry. You remember when you cried from scraping your knee and you couldn't see well through your tears?

_Yeah?_

It was just like that. So instead of doing work making tools, he did things like boring old paperwork, and drawing up blueprints for inventions. And it also meant that it was impossible for him to see how beautiful Bell was.

_That's so sad…_

And after Fletch told her this, Bell ran back to the inn. She went straight to her room; and do you know what she did?

_Um…I don't know._

She cried. Oh, she was so upset that she cried for half of the day. And then the other half she spent sitting in her room, not speaking to anyone.

_Daddy…I don't really like this story anymore. I wanna hear a happy story._

Okay, okay. Look at me, okay? I promise, this one has a happy ending.

_You…you mean it?_

I mean it. They don't make stories with sad endings, after all.

_Oh yeah… Um…okay then. You can keep going._

All right. So Bell had spent almost the whole day in her room, sad from knowing that Finn would never be able to see her. But then, when it was almost sunset, one of the maids who was trying to cheer her up said something. And what she said gave Bell an idea.

_What did she say?_

Oh, you'll find out in a minute. Quickly, Bell ran out of her room and outside. Even though her face was still a little red and puffy from her crying, and some of the people who worked in the inn were telling her that she should clean herself up, she went outside anyway. She went straight to the blacksmith shop again. Inside, she saw Fletch, who was finishing a sword. He showed her to the back, where Finn was. When she came into the room, Finn looked up. Even though he couldn't see well, he still could see that she was there. And here's the best part of the story.

_What is it?_

Well, Finn sat there, waiting for Bell to say something. And after a few seconds, she finally-

**-She finally said, "I love you."**

_*gasp* Oh my gosh!_

And her voice, still more pleasant to listen to than the chime of any bell, rang through the room. As he heard her voice, Finn stood up, and he knew that he loved her as well.

**And as the setting sun shone through the window, Finn and Bell kissed, knowing that no matter what, they would live happily ever after.**

And they did. The end.

_Oh my gosh, that was the bestest story ever! Mommy, Daddy, that was so good! Thank you guys soooo much!_

Heh, okay then, settle down. That was a super special story, and I think it's time you got some sleep. You'll have a big day ahead of you tomorrow.

**But before you do, do you still want to know what the maid had said to Bell?**

_Oh yeah! What did she say?_

She had told her that it's not what you look like on the outside that's important, but who you are on the inside. Do you understand?

_Ohhhh, yeah-yeah!_

**Okay, time to sleep. Sweet dreams, honey.**

Goodnight, Princess.

_Goodnight Mommy, goodnight Daddy._

•

Well, that was fun.

**Yeah; sure was. You really love pimping yourself on your looks though, don'tcha?**

Hey now: I get to be in the story for like, thirty seconds total, _and_ I'm nearly blind. I think I'm entitled to it, wouldn't you say? And it is from _your_ perspective, too.

**Heh, good point. Meaning that all that talk about me being so beautiful and having such a great voice was from you.**

You betcha! And don't think I was trying to oversell it for the story. You are that beautiful and your voice does sound that great and you know it.

**And you are definitely the most handsome man I have ever seen; blind as a bat or not.**

Well at least my vision cleared up; getting to see what's in front of you is kind of a nice thing.

**I'll bet it is. I love you.**

I love you too, Bell.


	13. The Journal

**The Journal**

by Roy Fortitude

* * *

_August 19, 2010_

Well, I'm not fully sure what I should actually write in here. I failed at really doing this the first time around, but I'm kinda bored right now. It's how I came across this journal again. I'm currently going through a box of all my old stuff, which so happens to include this.

I remember when I got it last year well enough: Mom gave it to me for my 11th birthday. I still don't really know why, but I hadn't wanted to make her feel bad at all, so I tried writing in it for a few days. I've still got those three pages here. It's mostly just a bunch of scribbles and stuff. I guess I'll keep it in there, though. A journal isn't that useful if you just throw out the pages, right?

Maybe I can give this another try. Mom's calling me down for dinner, so I guess I'll see if it takes tomorrow.

* * *

_August 20, 2010_

The more I thought about it last night and today, the more I think I like the idea of having a journal. Me and Ferb do so much stuff each day that it could be hard to keep track. I mean, we've got our blueprints, models and schematics, but they really can clutter up the place. Plus, there's so much to sort through. If I just write down what we did each day, it'd make cataloguing so much easier!

Anyway, today Ferb and I discovered a new element. At the moment it's called Coolium, thanks to Buford, but I'm sure we'll think of a more suitable name later. Turns out it's a perfect power source for the robotic power suits we created last week. To power them before, we had to build our own personal nuclear reactor to keep from draining the city of power.

Of course, this discovery doesn't really help; like everything else, it all disappeared before the day ended. I sometimes wonder about how it's doing that. I can't imagine it's something to do with Ferb and me, I mean it's not like we're all that special. Occasionally I've seen a beam of energy fly from out of the city and hit whatever we built in the day, but most of the time I just turn around and POOF! It's gone, or shrunken, or invisible, or gets picked up by a giant corn chip, or whatever else.

I don't think I should really worry about it too much. We still have the plans for the things, even when they disappear. It's not like we can't make them again, after all.

I'm not really sure what else to write for today. That's about all we did. Maybe I should just stop and write something tomorrow…

* * *

_August 21, 2010_

I'm getting Ferb to write this for me, since I accidentally hurt my hand today. Thanks again, Ferb. (I really don't mind. -F) So we were _supposed_ to be building a set of amusement rides for the charity fair next week. Unfortunately, I accidentally hurt my hand after the first two were finished and we'd started on the third.

It doesn't hurt that much when I'm not moving it, but it does mean I won't be able to do much physical work for a little while. Luckily, Isabella's got over 10 levels of first aid in Fireside Girls.

So I guess that should do it for today's entry. I suppose they'll all be pretty short until I can write on my own again. I don't want to waste too much of Ferb's time with these. (Again, I really don't mind. -F) Maybe we should build something to speed up the healing process tomorrow.

Okay, my hand really hurts writing this, but I don't really want Ferb to see this. Nothing against him, but I just want to keep this private. So I guess I'd better make sure to get my hand fixed up tomorrow.

Anyway, I only wanted to write, for the record, why I had hurt my hand. It was a complete accident; I was distracted for a few seconds. I just don't get why I got distracted. All I remember was sawing a piece of wood, and I looked up for a second and I saw Isabella, and then I slipped and I was bleeding.

Maybe the sun got reflected off somebody's watch or something. …Well, at least that's what I've been telling people. Truth is I just got caught up in looking at Isabella. I don't really know what it is; something about her hair, or her face, or whatever else, but she really looks good lately. It feels kind of embarrassing though; I don't know why. That's why I don't really want Ferb to read this at all.

I might have to ask someone about this if it happens again. I don't really want to end up injuring myself everyday just to look at her, but I don't want to not be able to admire how she looks either.

Maybe it's a good idea that I decided to start using this journal. Even if I don't end up talking to anyone real, I can write what I'm thinking down here like this. It might help later on.

Well, I may have to leave it at that; my hand is killing me now. Ferb and I are totally going to build something to fix my hand tomorrow.


End file.
